Mass-shedding limit

ID: mass-shedding-limit

The mass-shedding limit is the spin at which equatorial surface matter can no longer remain attached in equilibrium. Newtonian gravity gives a Keplerian frequency scale at the surface. Rotation-induced deformation, general relativity and the equation of state change the numerical bound. A magnetic-equilibrium formula is not valid indefinitely as the exterior magnetosphere shrinks inside the star.

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